Chakotay
and Tuvok waited outside the Ready Room patiently, but with growing
concern. Chakotay rang the chime again. Tuvok was about to order the
door open when it did so anyway, revealing a very scornful Kathryn
standing there glowering at them.

"Whatever
it is, can it wait until you two get your ears checked?" she
said, more raspy than usual.

The
two men exchanged similar concerned glances. "Are you alright,
Captain?" Tuvok asked.

"Fine,"
Kathryn groaned, then walked off back to her desk. They followed her
in. "It's nothing a little sip of coffee won't cure."

Neither
were surprised to see four empty cups and a fifth half empty on her
desk. They knew better than to point that out though.

"Captain,
we have something to report and you're not going to like it,"
Chakotay said.

Kathryn
sat down at her chair and slouched so casually he assumed she didn't
hear him. "I woke up this morning, got out of bed and put on my
uniform." She got blank stares in return, it poked her already
tired nerves. "I thought we were reporting generic daily things.
My mistake! Well, what is it?" she asked while slurping at her
fifth little sip of coffee.

"A
member of the crew was found dead in her quarters this morning,"
Chakotay replied.

"Ohno,"
Kathryn groaned as if he told her they were out of clean teaspoons.
"If you want my permission to do possession tests, go right
ahead, but don't think you two are exempt."

Tuvok's
eyebrow slowly raised. "She was beaten to death in her shower.
I don't believe you are taking this seriously."

Chakotay
widened his eyes and took a few steps to one side away from him.

"Oh
I'm serious, serious as a smartass Vulcan," Kathryn snarled.
Fortunately she remained in her chair, only less comfy. "It
seems oh someone's dead is a regular occurrence on this ship
these days. At some point I've got to question not only the
murderers, but the security who keep letting them do it."

"It
appears Captain, that the attacker knew how to force open a quarters
door. Without a complete rewiring of the entire system, there's
nothing I can do..." Tuvok said.

"Uh
huh, if you don't hurry, someone else might solve this case for
you," Kathryn muttered. Her next port of call appeared to be the
replicator, she stopped part way to lightly nudge Tuvok and Chakotay
backwards, they assumed out of her office. They turned to leave.
"Oh that gives me a wonderful idea," she said mischievously.

Tuvok
escaped before Chakotay did, leaving him wincing, expecting the
worst but hoping it was merely coffee related. "What?"

"Whoever
does solve this, and we all know it won't be Sir Eyebrows A Lot,
will get his job," Kathryn said with a smirk. She ordered her
drink; a gigantic glass mug of black coffee with whipped cream on top.

Chakotay
decided to call her bluff, and since her back was still turned he
allowed a smirk himself. "If you're going to do that, we should
consider retroactive candidates. How we decide between all of them
will be tricky." He saw her shoulders slightly tense. "I'll
let Jessie know anyway in advance." He walked off.

Kathryn
shuddered in rage, at least until she had a messy slurp of her
coffee, leaving her with a white frothy nose.

The
Mess Hall:Morgan
walked inside to find it extremely busy, no tables were free. She
walked up to a table which Tani was sharing with Danny and Ian.

Tani
immediately got up. "Morgan, how are you?" she asked in a
huffy tone.

"Oh
give it up, Tani. Just get over it, you're still my best
friend," Morgan said.

"Whatever
you say, Morgan," Tani muttered as she walked away to the
opposite side of the room.

Morgan
reluctantly took her seat. "You think she would have gotten
over it by now."

"Is
it true?" Danny asked.

"Yeah,
I don't know why she won't get over it," Morgan replied.

Danny
and Ian looked at each other smirking. "Then I can see why she
hasn't," Ian said first to Danny's disappointment.

"Okay?"
Morgan said impatiently.

"Tani
has a fancy for James. Can't say I blame her," Danny said,
winking at her fiance beside her. He didn't react, Morgan wasn't sure
if he was used to it or if he'd tuned her out.

"Yeah
so? Nobody thinks otherwise. What's that got to do with
anything?" Morgan grumbled, hiding her disgust for the moment.

Danny
was about to answer her, but Ian nudged her lightly with his arm.
Danny whined like a child told she couldn't have that toy she wanted.
"Trust me, I saw this all the time back when we were your age.
Once you grow up a bit, you'll stop fawning over the bad older boys.
It's just a fad, you'll get over it, all teenagers do." Danny
giving him another wink made him frown, "unless you're Danny."

Morgan's
face scrunched up while her eyes drifted between the two.
"What?" she finally spat out. "Why are you including
me in this? Gross."

Danny
and Ian looked at each other with confused expressions on their
faces. "Tani said she wouldn't forgive you for pursuing him,
knowing that she fancied him too. I mean I doubted the just to
spite me part of her rant, but..." Danny said.

"I
didn't, I'm not! And I don't fancy him!" Morgan screeched.

"Why
would she lie about that? It doesn't help her," Ian mused aloud.

"Fancy
who?" a familiar voice asked. The three looked up and they saw
James standing near the table.

"Now
look what you've done!" Morgan yelled.

James
scanned the table, looking a little worried as he finally focused on
Danny. "What have you done?"

"God,
you have a real talent for popping up when you're being talked
about," Ian sighed.

James
twisted his face and looked to the side. "Oh, I must've misheard."

"Nope,
Morgan fancies you," Danny said and she burst into giggles. Ian
couldn't help but join her.

James
narrowed his eyes back at her. "And how would anyone other than
you know about that?"

Morgan
laughed nervously, "well you know, ship this size and rumours,
and all. Oh look..." She hurried over to the free replicator to
get a drink.

An
ear piercing sound approached the Mess Hall, rendering the whole
room in dreaded silence. Some people were prepared and popped ear
muffs on. For once Neelix wasn't the cause of it, the sound came from
behind the doors and it only got louder when they opened. On the
other side was a frazzled looking Tom carrying a squirming bundle. He
scanned the room like his life depended on it.

Next
thing anyone knew, he was standing besides James' table with a wide
eyed expression. "You, time to earn your keep," he mumbled,
drowned out by the crying.

James
slowly looked around and up at him with the smallest of frowns. "What?"

Tom
groaned impatiently. "You," he grunted and pointed at him,
James looked worried for a moment, "godfather." The crying
settled to mere whimpers while he spoke louder and louder.
"Babysit! Slow enough for ya?" Tom ended up shouting.
Everyone looked at him but he couldn't care less.

A
little squeaky whine brought James' eye down to the moving, much
quieter lump in Tom's arms. He noticed then how high his own
shoulders had tensed, trying to lower them he realised he was shaking
too. He tried to smile to cover that, "I thought you didn't want
me around him."

Tom
didn't notice his reaction or care about it, he shrugged with
indifference. "I already asked Jessie, but she gave me some busy
excuse and hung up on me. So beggars can't be choosers." He
noticed James' eyebrow raise, it ticked him off. "Hey with all
that's going on, I need a bodyguard more than a babysitter. If you
have to take that literally, be my guest."

"Why,
what's happened?" James questioned.

Tom
rolled his eyes. "I'll drop by yours at 2000 hours."

"Um,
I didn't..." James said.

"You'll
get paid," Tom quickly blurted out, his eyes wide again.

James
once again eyed the bundle he assumed had fallen asleep since he
hadn't made a peep for a while. "He can't be that hard to..."

Tom's
tired eyes widened further, "fine, prove it! This kid relishes
off making me suffer, so you two will get on." James held his
tongue, it wasn't the right time. "See you tonight."

Tom
turned to leave. James was momentarily distracted at the multiple
scenarios playing in his head to notice he had at first. Tom bumping
into Morgan with a painful, "ouch!" did the trick. The baby
sounded like he laughed at him.

"You
have a mum?" Tani stammered, eyes widening, "where's she
been hiding all this time?" Samantha made a little grunt, opting
to ignore her after that but the young girl focused on her. "You
need to tell that girl to stop stalking grown men she fancies. She's
just a kid, they can't date her."

Naomi's
face flushed furiously, "Tani!"

Samantha's
frown only grew, "excuse me?"

"It's
just, I'm worried about her. She's still just an ickle 'un, naive,
you know? It's a little sad and creepy, but you're welcome,"
Tani said. For no reason that her two tablemates could see, her eyes
almost bugged out. She got up quickly and to their relief left them alone.

At
the same time James had decided to get up and go as well. He noticed
her gunning for him, so he quickly escaped long before she got to the
table. "Wait! You didn't answer my letter, it says read."
She ran after him.

Samantha
turned to watch the teen disappear out the door. All anyone could
hear was her shouting, "I'll be there at eight!"

Morgan
shook her head, mouthing wow.

Tuvok
waited patiently while the person sat in front of him spoke, on the
outside anyway. Inside he had stopped listening ten minutes ago and
was silently trying to meditate.

"So
then I got a new one, and guess what?" Tuvok didn't hear that
to answer, still she continued. "The prick installed a second
blade on his, it looked so... awesome, all jagged edged and rrrr,
fast. I took it from him, but the bitch took mine. So it was totally
self defence. Right? Okay, I'm going now, bye."

Tuvok
noticed his visitor getting up, bringing his attention back to the
real world. "Miss Emma. You have not answered my questions."

Emma
groaned and begrudgingly sat down again. "I did. I said it
wasn't me."

"I
did not accuse you," Tuvok said, eyebrow twitching.
"Although, perhaps I should speak with this man you spoke of.
What did you say his name was?"

"I
dunno, Evil something, said it was backwards. So I called him Evil
Cu..." Emma replied.

"Indeed,
then perhaps you could go through the crew file head shots,"
Tuvok said. Emma's eyes lit up for no reason he could see. "To
see if any one of them is familiar."

Emma
sighed in disappointment, "aaw, fine."

"Getting
back on topic. A woman was murdered this morning, and..." Tuvok said.

"Oooh
how?" Emma asked.

Tuvok
was more than put off by that, it left him speechless for a few
seconds. "Thank you Miss Emma, that will be all."

"Okeydokey,"
Emma said cheerfully. She hurried out of the office, leaving Tuvok
alone with his suspects list. He checked to see who was next. The
name that followed Emma's made his whole body fall cold, he couldn't
help but shudder. "No," he said while skipping to the next name.

After
a few detours and a trip to the opposite end of the ship, James
finally reached the deck he was aiming for. No one was following him
anymore, so he made his way towards his quarters. To his surprise he
found a man standing there pressing the door chime and waiting.

"Er,
can I help you?" James asked on approach.

The
man frowned in an almost mocking way. "What? No." James
eyed his own door briefly and back again at the man. "I'm
waiting for someone, not that it's any of your business."

"I
see," James said as neutral as possible. He walked straight
inside, leaving the stranger staring flummoxed at his previous spot.
His proximity kept the door open.

"You're...
you must be James, aren't you?" the man stuttered. "Oh
dear, not good."

James
stayed in the centre of the room by the table, pulling all manner of
faces. "I think so, let me check."

The
man laughed nervously. "It's funny, Jessie and I were meeting
here at thirteen hundred and I thought being a few minutes early
wouldn't be a problem."

James
thought about what to say to that as he walked towards the
replicator. All he could come up with was a disinterested, "okay."

"I'll
come back at one, I'm not..." the man said, pointing to the right.

"It
is one," James said before he ordered a drink. He didn't hear
anything, so he assumed the guy was still there. "Either come in
or go, you're letting a draft in."

The
man stepped in enough for the door to close, he remained there
looking very awkward. "It's not what you think," he blurted out.

James
shook his head as he collected his cup, "really?" He
turned back around, "but I was so sure you were some strange guy
standing at my door. That's weird."

"Andy,"
the man said abruptly at the same time James was taking a drink.
While still doing that he eyed him, raising an eyebrow. "Andrew
Wright. I'm just her friend."

"Okay,"
James said again, glancing to one side.

Andrew
sighed in a futile attempt to settle his nerves. James walking back
towards the table undid any of his efforts. "I shouldn't be in
here. You know, I assume. It's still new, she doesn't trust me alone yet."

James
placed the cup down on the table, all while keeping a close eye on
him. Andrew's guard tightened even more so, he looked like he was
seconds away from bolting to the other side of the ship. "Why
are you..." he said, gesturing toward him. "Did you think I
only let you in so there were no witnesses?"

James
held up a hand, signalling him to stop. "Then don't, it doesn't
matter, it's none of my business."

Andrew's
left shoulder and eyebrow twitched. "It does. I mean, that
whole incident with that last guy."

"Yeah
and if you know enough to bring him up now, then you shouldn't be
all twitchy. I don't throw everyone I meet into glass tables, you
know," James said.

"Oh..."
Andrew sighed in relief for a moment, then his eyes widened again, "what?"

The
door opened again, not because of him. They both glanced across to
see Jessie stall on entry. "Oh... no."

James
cleared his throat uncomfortably, then headed for his room. "No
worries, I'll get out of the way."

"Wait!"
Jessie stuttered, rushing after him. "Let me explain."

James
stopped right at his door with a confused frown on his face.
"Huh, explain?" He turned around to face her, "what's
to explain?"

Jessie
recoiled and started to stammer, "well..." Her reaction he
wasn't expecting, it put him a little on edge, not helped by the
smiling Andrew in the background. "After last time I thought
it'd be best to wait until I was sure..." she winced, "no
that's not right."

James
glanced between them both as he started to feel like he was the
stranger in someone elses' quarters. "Sure of what?" he
asked slowly. "That I wouldn't get mad or it wouldn't be awkward?"

"That's
working swimmingly," Andrew chuckled.

Jessie
glanced briefly over her shoulder, pointing a skunk eye in his
direction. He turned away and walked off to escape. "No,"
she said turning back, "I didn't want to upset or worry you so
soon after my last attempt at making friends."

"Then,"
James said warily, his eyes drifting across to Andrew pacing the
room, "what's with the ohno's and the tip toeing around me like
I'm Janeway during a coffee shortage."

Jessie's
face fell, she wasn't sure how to answer that. Andrew walked part
way over to her, making her wince as if mad. "You can't blame
her for that, can you?"

"No,
no I can't," James said while still focusing on him over her
shoulder. "If that's how I come across in Jessie's stories about
me, then that's how I come across," he said, briefly making eye
contact with Jessie. He headed for the exit.

"That's
not what I meant at all, wait..." Jessie stuttered, before
deciding to chase after him. The door closed long before she got to
it. The resulting sigh was sad, so Andrew wasn't expecting her to
swing around with a furious glint in her eye. "What the hell did
you say to him?"

Andrew's
jaw dropped. "Me? Nothing."

"Well
what happened?" Jessie snapped on approach.

"I
was early, he arrived. I told him I was waiting for you, he let me
in..." Andrew explained.

Jessie
huffed in surprise. "And you followed him despite the panic
attacks you were having?"

Jessie
laughed insincerely before turning back around. "What
situation? Sounds like he was taking it well until you started giving
him the crap your pants at the sight of him treatment."

"Uh..."
Andrew once more was speechless. He shook it off quickly, "he
was not taking it well, not until I tried to explain. He was nothing
but rude and stand off-ish..."

"No,
you've got it backwards. He has enough on his plate. If I told him
on day one that I had made another new male friend, he'd be pleased
for me but worried still. I was, so why wouldn't he be?" Jessie said.

Andrew
stared at her sympathetically. "He didn't look pleased. He
looked like a jealous ex. Which is exactly what he is."

Jessie's
eyes narrowed dangerously, "and what do I look like?"
Andrew chuckled, fidgeting nervously on the spot. "Yeah. James
and I tell each other everything. This is the first big secret I've
kept from him for more than an hour. He reacted better than I would
if he did that to me. If he's upset, he has a right to be."

"Right,"
Andrew didn't sound convinced. "Nothing about this is right.
It'd already be awkward enough living with him, but now?" He let
out a little scoff, "he needs to let go, then you both can get
over it."

Jessie
rolled her eyes. "Get a new tune Andrew, you're tone deaf."
She moved across the living room towards the sofa where two jackets
were draped over the back. She peered over her shoulder cautiously as
she picked them both up.

Andrew
didn't notice that detail, he just laughed at her comment.
"Right, I only do this for living."

"No,"
Jessie scolded, choosing the very light blue cardigan. "You
said I was no longer your patient, so the psychobabble is over.
Done." She folded the black one she didn't choose to put it back
where she got it. Then she wandered over towards her room.

Andrew
walked in the same direction as if following her but he stopped at
the sofa, eyeing the black one with a grimace. "We're only going
to the Mess Hall."

Jessie
disappeared into her room, the door remained opened though.
"Yeah so?"

"A
bit much, isn't it? That blue one," Andrew said.

Jessie
walked back out wearing the cardigan over the grey tank top of her
uniform, trying not to laugh. "Yeah, like I'm going to take
fashion advice from a ninny who thinks waistcoats are ever in."
She continued laughing as she left the quarters. Andrew hurried after
her while muttering protests.

Sickbay:"Well?"
Kathryn said as soon as she entered.

The
Doctor looked up from his surgery in dismay. Lee took the
opportunity to steal a bite of his sandwich nearby. "Well wait
in my office, I'm busy."

"Don't
be snippy with me. Just tell me," Kathryn hissed. The Doctor
stared back blankly, irritating her further. "Was this woman
actually murdered, and do I need to install cameras on every part of
the ship, because this is getting ridiculous."

"Hey!"
the male patient snapped.

The
Doctor sighed, patting their shoulder as a hint to lie back down. He
walked away, leaving Lee to continue his work.

"I
have nothing new to report. Ensign Lilneli's remains have been sent
to the morgue. I gave Mr Tuvok cause of death and..." the Doctor said.

"That's
it?" Kathryn interrupted harshly. "You don't have DNA,
fingerprints or any forensic evidence at all?" The Doctor tried
to reply. "No, you just assume it's ghosts again and call it a day."

"Captain,"
the Doctor protested over the top of her last few words. "I
understand you're frustrated about this, but the incident happened in
a shower that's designed to remove impurities. There was no evidence.
This killer clearly knew what they were doing."

"Oh,
so if I want to murder someone, I just gotta follow them into a
shower," Kathryn said, quickly turning disgusted. "Nah, not
worth it."

The
Doctor chose to ignore everything she said for the sake of his
sanity. "There's more to it than that. They covered their tracks
when they entered and left the quarters. The ensign was well liked,
no reason to kill her."

Kathryn
attempted to clear the frog in her throat. "Fine, it's just
another serial killer incident. I'll leave you with your heartburn
patient, my apologies." She walked out, leaving the Doctor
looking gobsmacked.

"I
got this Doc," Lee said with a mouthful of food. The Doctor
side eyed him as he burped loudly, spraying crumbs everywhere. The
patient wiped away the few he saw on his face.

"Mr
Williams, why don't you go to the morgue in my stead. I have an
idea," the Doctor said.

The
door chimed. James stared at it like he knew Annika was standing
behind it with a bouquet of flowers. "Well here goes."

He
was about to walk over to it when it opened on its own. Tom let
himself in, packed with bags upon bags.

"Did
you remember the baby?" James asked.

Tom
stared at him while he dropped one of the bags on his shoulders onto
the floor. "Hilarious. Where's Jessie?"

James
flinched, then looked back over his shoulder briefly. "Why? You
said it yourself she was busy." Morgan peered at him curiously.

"Oh
good," Tom sighed in relief as he unloaded more of the bags,
leaving only the lump curled in the corner of his arm. "He's
been fed and we have bottles, so there's no need for Morgan. Which by
the way, creepy much?" He reached out to hand the lump over to
James, "if you have to change him, just don't..."

"Hang
on," James said without budging so Tom was standing with his
arms outstretched. "What did you say?"

Tom
groaned impatiently, "as I was saying, I don't want to scar the
poor little guy for life, so just watch him and don't influence him, k?"

"Why
was I mentioned?" Morgan asked.

James
glanced over his shoulder at her, then back again, this time
offering his arms out. Tom handed the baby over and abruptly turned
to leave.

"Hey,"
Morgan complained.

James
shook his head as the door closed. "Ignore him, he's just being
a sexist prick."

"Pfft,
I see," Morgan scoffed in realisation. "If you think I'm
playing mummy, taking him to the loo and spoon feeding him, you got
another thing coming."

James
tried not to laugh. "Ohno, my scheme is ruined," he said
in deadpan.

"Well,
you're taking sudden daddy-hood well. It suits you," Morgan
teased. She walked over to the table to retrieve the device she'd
given him.

"Uh
huh, good one. I need a drink," James stuttered. Even though he
was going for the replicator, he kept a close eye on her making
herself at home on the sofa.

The
moment his head turned to the replicator, she smirked and spoke up,
"so who is Andrew?"

James
closed his eyes and grimaced. It didn't last, the baby made a little
grunt that sounded like he was trying to show his disgust. He
couldn't help but snigger quietly to himself.

"What
have I told you about the telepathy thing?" he asked.

"I
should ask you the same thing," Morgan said, pulling a know it
all face before burying her nose into the device. It didn't take any
longer than a minute for her to get mad at it and toss it to one side
on the sofa.

Tani
couldn't wait any longer. She laughed to herself, imagining the
reaction she was going to get. Everytime the Mess Hall doors opened,
she'd be disappointed that it wasn't who she wanted it to be. After a
long five minutes she had to go inside. Typically that was when her
target had chosen to leave and they almost collided.

"Oooh
Jessie, who are you whoring around with this week?" she taunted.

Jessie's
face hardened, temperatures dropped. The reaction was exactly what
Tani wanted so she sniggered. "What?" Jessie spat at her.

"Er...
maybe you should count to ten," Andrew said, fearing for his life.

Tuvok's
inner resolve hung in the balance. Still he hung in there. "Miss
Lilly, please..."

"Captain,"
Lilly pretended to cough.

"You're
acquainted with the victim, correct?" Tuvok questioned. He
hinted that she should look at the PADD lying on his desk in front of her.

Lilly
acted as if it were a heavy box when she reached over to collect it.
When she saw the picture her eyes shifted nervously. "Yes, I
mean no." Tuvok's eyebrow raised. "It was nothing, just a
little thing."

"She
was found murdered in her bathroom this morning. How little of a
thing was it?" Tuvok asked as patiently as he could.

"Oh,"
Lilly said as her face drained. "There's nothing to it, really.
A misunderstanding. I wouldn't do anything like that."

Tuvok
glanced at his computer to pretend to read it, though he had
memorised it already. "You said and I quote; I look like a
tangerine. You'll pay for this."

Lilly
laughed nervously. "She did pay... er I mean, she paid for the
replacement hair dye." She pointed at her hair as if that proved
everything, "see. Nice and red again."

"I
see," Tuvok sounded drained. "When was the last time you
were on Voyager?"

Once
she was gone he studied his list of suspects. The name he crossed
out previously was back on it, he hovered over that for a while.

Morgan
put her feet up on the coffee table, once again with the gaming
device in one of her hands. In the other, the baby was nestled in her
arm, seemingly watching the screen. Only a few inches away James sat,
slouched to one side, elbow deep in a cushion, sleeping quietly.

"Okay,
what move should we use?" Morgan whispered. She waited a bit.
Before she pressed one of the buttons the baby did a little arm
stretch. "Oh good idea." She changed which button she was
going to press.

The
door chimed. She got up to answer it as quietly as possible.

"Morgan?
You're still here?" Tom said.

"Shhh,"
Morgan shushed him, "keep it down."

Tom
looked down at the wide awake baby. "Why?"

Morgan
smirked and glanced over her shoulder. Tom followed her glance and
couldn't help but laugh to himself.

"Even
the mighty James was worn out, huh? Well done kiddo," he said
while Morgan handed the fussing child over to him.

"Worn
out, by what?" Morgan scoffed. "He doesn't do anything but
lie there and occasionally point."

"Oh
Morgan, ignorance is bliss, ey? Where were you when he was out
screaming the red alert klaxon, or attempting to kick you in the face
while you're trying to feed him?" Tom said in a mocking tone,
staring at the console in her hands.

Morgan
sniggered to his confusion, "he cried like once when he stunk
the room out. I think that's what did James in, actually. I had to
leave for a bit for some air but he couldn't."

"Huh?"
Tom whimpered, turning a little pale. He looked down at the tiny
little boy in his arms, currently scrunching up his face and looking
away from him. "He must be ill or something. I'd better get him
checked out."

He
turned to leave. Morgan followed him until at least the doorframe,
"oh, I figured out what you meant earlier." She stepped
out, letting the door close behind her. Tom increased his speed to
the turbolift. Neither of them noticed Jessie approach from the other
direction. "So I gave Duncan a little treat before you stopped by."

"Duncan?"
Jessie stammered as she stopped close to the door.

Tom
disappeared into the turbolift, to Morgan's satisfaction mumbling
something while pinching his nose.

Morgan
made sure to stop smiling before she turned around to face Jessie.
"Yeah um, James and I were watching him."

Jessie's
face was blank, she blinked more than usual. "Why didn't
he...?" she trailed off with a saddened sigh. "Yeah, course."

"So
who is this Andrew guy?" Morgan asked.

Jessie's
eyebrows twitched, "what? What did he say?"

"Nothing,
not aloud anyway," Morgan replied, glancing toward the door.
"You know, it's pretty crappy to be sneaking around behind his
back with your new best mate and not telling him. Especially after
all he's done for you."

"Butt
out Morgan," Jessie snapped coldly. She attempted to walk
around her to get in her quarters, Morgan intentionally got in her
way. Jessie breathed in deeply to contain her temper. "Don't
interfere with things you don't understand. Now move."

"You're
right, I don't," Morgan said. She turned on her heel to walk
away, leaving Jessie behind to stew.

Captain's
Log Supplemental:
It's been a week since the unfortunate incident, and we are no
closer to figuring out who did it. Tuvok has requested a full postmortem
on the body to see if we can narrow down the suspect pool.

Kathryn
stepped onto the Bridge from her Ready Room, only to stall and
wonder if she instead walked into the nursery they didn't have. With
Bryan sitting on the floor leaving she hoped chocolate hand prints
everywhere, and two kids on the command chairs, she suddenly thought
having one would be a good idea.

"Tom.
Why have you left your baby on my seat?" she tried to say
calmly, but seethed.

Tom
jumped out of his skin, partially turning his chair around for him.
His eyes fell to the boy on the carpet first, only to panic further
when he remembered. He dashed over to collect the only one month old
baby boy lying snugly in his blanket on top of Kathryn's chair.
"Sorry Captain, Bryan sorta broke the carrier for him so I had
nowhere to put him."

Bryan
made a little whining sound as he looked up at his dad accusingly.

For
one brief moment, the gurgling baby softened Kathryn's bad mood when
he was picked up. That was immediately destroyed by the reveal of the
stained cushion that had been lurking beneath. "Thomas,
forgetting something!?"

Tom
hadn't noticed. He didn't dare look at her to find out what, only
glance back at the chair. To his horror, not only did it look like
the baby had spit up on the cushion, but it looked brown in colour,
the same shade as Bryan's moose that he'd barely eaten.

"Sickbay
to Janeway."

"Wooh,
saved by the bell," Tom muttered.

Kathryn
passed him a death glare as she tapped her commbadge. "Janeway
here," she said.

"Captain,
please report to Sickbay."

"On
my way, Janeway out," Kathryn said and she tapped her commbadge
again. She fixed another death glare on Tom as she headed towards the
turbolift. "Tom, I want that clean when I get back," she
said as she disappeared into the turbolift.

"Duncan,
you got your daddy into trouble," Tom said. He got a little
squeak that sounded almost like a giggle in response. He knew he was
too young for that, so brushed it off.

Security
Team One arrived outside the Cargo Bay, joining another anxious
looking team already there.

"Never
fear ladies, the numero uno team is here," Thompson said.

The
other team glared at him. Even the fact that half of them were men
didn't embarrass him one bit, he continued smiling broadly.

James
rolled his eyes almost in sync with Foster. "At least you don't
have to put up with him longer than two minutes," James remarked.

One
of the women groaned uneasily. "Actually, we do. We've already
relieved the night shift teams."

Another
security officer tapped on the panel beside the door to open it.
Team One immediately saw the mess inside, including blood and even
hair that looked like it'd been pulled out.

Thompson
winced through his teeth. "Oh boy."

"Yeah,"
James sounded relieved by it to his teammates surprise. "Annika
has an episodely tradition she has to keep up."

"Oh
it's not her," the other team leader said, gesturing to one of
the hair samples. James noticed it wasn't blonde but dark brown, he
regretted what he said immediately. "Apparently one of the other
Borgs. Annika found her."

James
walked through them to have a better look inside, his eyes widening
in worry. "Who?"

Sickbay:The
Doctor face palmed into his spare hand, the other continued treating
the large cut on his patient's face. "Tani." He got no
response, so groaned as well. "Your daughter's best friend."

"Clearly,"
the Doctor instantly regretted saying. He felt Kathryn glaring into
his database.

Tuvok
thought to intervene before he was deleted. "Hansen called
Security after she restored the power." Kathryn hmphed at him.
"Whoever did this locked Miss Henderson... Tani in so she
couldn't escape."

"And
the one with the wannabe Mary Sue complex slept through it?"
Kathryn said suspiciously.

"It
seems that was when the attacker made their escape," Tuvok said.

Kathryn
snarled, "sure. Do you think this is linked with the previous
attack?" Tuvok didn't have time to answer. "Of course it
is. The question is, do they have the same suspects so we can narrow
it down?"

Tuvok
nodded, "they do. I'd like to question them, again."

"Again?
Why did you hesitate there?" the Doctor asked.

"There
are one or two that I didn't question," Tuvok said uneasily,
his eyes briefly drifting toward Kathryn.

She
didn't notice, "oh I see, getting lazy in your old age Mr Tuvok?"

"What
do you know about Miss Henderson?" Tuvok asked nonchalantly.

Kathryn's
eyes flared up, "what, that cleaning obsessed woman's dead too?
Or is she the killer, I doubt it, it was too messy in there. Get your
head in the game." She stomped off angrily.

The
Doctor stared bemused at Tuvok who looked the same as he always did.
"That counts," the latter said.

Three
of the security officers stood guard, or at least pretended to,
while the rest rummaged around the Cargo Bay for clues. Foster
inadvertently peered into one of Neelix's containers, the room span
around and turned pink. To everyone else he looked cross eyed and queasy.

"It
seems like this happened during the regeneration cycles," James
said. He stepped across to the neighbouring alcove to take another
peek at the arm panel there. "Both say they were incomplete."

One
of the nameless security officers crouched down nearby when she
spotted some metallic scratches on the wall. A laugh caught in her
throat, "is there anything you want to tell us?"

James
frowned and looked down at her. "What?"

The
woman pointed at the scratching. As he was walking over to check it
out, she decided to read it for him. "Tani four James four-eva.
Hot bod all mine."

"Oh
god," James said mid shudder. He turned his attention back to
Annika's alcove. "Anyway," he said urgently, "it looks
more like Tani was attacked in her sleep so she didn't suffer."

"Hmm,
so that crosses out a love rival, or an ex, current boyfriend,"
the woman chuckled.

James
walked away, keeping his annoyed stare to himself. Then he noticed
Foster passed out on the floor, humming away and drooling. James
cautiously looked at the barrel, the smell from even a couple of
metres away was strong enough to get him to back off. "Mystery
solved. I'll go and arrest Neelix."

"Um,
I'm sorry man but VIP only," Thompson's voice said. Nothing
about that was unusual so the pair continued looking around as normal.

"Inadequate
more than likely," Andrew's voice said chirpily. "Tuvok
ordered me. A Stuart is next for his questioning."

"Ohno,
not again," Thompson chuckled darkly. He stuck his head through
the open doors. "James, we talked about this. Stop killing people."

James
looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Aaw, why not one
more?" he taunted in a cold voice.

"Yeah
good luck buddy," Thompson said in Andrew's direction. James
then noticed him standing in between his two teammates, he looked
almost smug and that was before Thompson let him walk in.

"Hold
on," James said, hurrying over to get in his way. "This is
a crime scene," he directed towards Thompson. He shrugged and
turned his back. "Tuvok knows I'm here, working. Why did he send you?"

"Probably
because I'm trained to deal with people like you," Andrew
answered. James tried not to scowl, not helped by Thompson's annoying
little laugh. "No but seriously, I was the last one
interrogated. It's your turn."

James
made a little frustrated sigh as he walked around him. "Anyone
but Thompson," he said gesturing his thumb behind him. One of
the other security officers took his place in the Cargo Bay as he left.

Andrew
started to follow him much to his growing impatience. When they got
to the turbolift door, he still awkwardly stood behind him while they waited.

"You
know, a better or any friend would do the right thing," Andrew said.

James
looked briefly in his general direction, but opted not to say anything.

"I
do have a few open slots in my schedule to talk over your issues, if
you'd like," Andrew continued, seemingly oblivious.

"Issues?"
James only mouthed as the lift arrived. He held his tongue and
stepped inside. Of course Andrew followed him, nodding for no reason
he could see. "Deck Nine."

"It'd
be better for both of you, I think. This can't go on much longer,
poor Jessie," Andrew said, sighing and then clicking his tongue.

"Computer,
stop the lift," James ordered and turned to face him. He was
very surprised to find Andrew still looking smug, a far cry from
their first meeting. "If you've got something to say, just say
it, stop wasting my time."

"See,"
Andrew chuckled, "no patience."

James
stared at him blankly. "Are you actually going to start talking
to me, or keep up with the passive aggressive talking to yourself?"

"You
really need to think before you speak. You're making no sense,"
Andrew said, and he sounded dead serious.

"Right,
I'm not," James muttered to one side. "What did you mean
with the poor Jessie remark?"

"What?"
Andrew looked surprised, "you don't know, you haven't
noticed?" James' face had hardened, which seemed to amuse Andrew
more than anything. "You don't care do you, what you've done to
her. That girl is broken, you did that to her and you don't even have
the grace to leave her alone to heal."

"What
the hell are you talking about?" James snapped, his eyes
sharpening and narrowed.

Andrew
at least had the sense to be unnerved slightly by that.
"Computer, next deck please." The lift sprang back into
motion and quickly stopped to open again. "You have dependency
issues, you know that? That and bottles of anger." He made a
step backwards to at least keep the door open.

"You're
supposed to be a counsellor? No wonder this crew has so many
problems," James said in disbelief.

"Hmph,"
Andrew huffed in offense. "Let me guess, daddy issues? Not
around, abusive..." James' draining but still annoyed face
seemingly answered his question, making him smug again, "all of
the above, huh?" He stomped off looking like he won something.

Sickbay:Tuvok
and Kathryn walked through the door, they headed straight over to
the occupied biobed. Tani was awake and in the middle of a scan.

"How
are you feeling?" Kathryn asked.

"I've
been better, I guess," Tani replied.

"Who
attacked you?" Tuvok asked.

"I
don't know. The lights went out, I only saw a shadow," Tani replied.

"Can
you tell us something about it?" Tuvok asked.

"Like
a description of a shadow's going to get us anywhere," Kathryn muttered.

"I
think it was a she, and she was rather tall," Tani replied.

"Can
you tell me how tall?" Tuvok asked.

"I
think she was a little taller than me, I'm not quite sure, it
happened rather fast," Tani replied.

"Thank
you. I think we've narrowed the list of suspects from 150 to
70," Tuvok said.

Kathryn
side-eyed him coldly. The Doctor pretended to clear his throat to
get Tani's attention instead. "We were told this happened during
your regeneration cycle, yet you were conscious during your attack."

Tuvok
raised his eyebrow suspiciously.

"I
guess. Something woke me up, or that did," Tani said uneasily.
Her eyes widened, skin paled. "Oh there was a voice. That's what
did it."

"Your
attacker said something to you?" Tuvok questioned.

Tani
nodded, she squeezed her own arms tightly. "Not said. It was
real creepy, like an axe murderer humming a bedtime song to his
victim. After that it's a little fuzzy."

"Positive,"
Tani replied. Her hand hovered up to her sore scalp, she winced at
the touch. "She pulled me out of the alcove by the hair. While humming."

"Hair
pulling? Curious," Tuvok said.

Kathryn
nodded, deep in thought until she noticed him glancing at her. She
scowled at him into rushing out of Sickbay entirely.

"So
one week, and all we know is that our wannabe serial killer is a
hummer who likes to sneak into people's showers and steal their
hair," Kathryn said. The Doctor and Tani glanced at each other,
bemused and a little frightened. "What are you worried about?
You have no hair and you never shower."

The
Doctor chuckled nervously, "I'll keep you informed."

"Mmmhmm,"
Kathryn murmured on her way out, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him.

Six
Days
Later

Jessie
stepped out of her bedroom looking sullen until she spotted James in
the living room finishing off a coffee. "Oh good, you're up. I
was wondering if..." she trailed off when she noticed he was in
his uniform. "You're working this weekend as well?"

"Yeah,
until we solve this month's serial killer case," James said,
about ready to leave. He noticed her earlier mood coming back so he
stopped. "What's wrong?"

"It's
okay, I'm not due for another ten minutes," James said. Jessie
shook her head and meekly smiled. "Alright, I'll see you
later," he said, smiling back.

As
soon as he was gone, she made her way to the door as well and
hurried after him. "No, no I can't. I've been doing that a lot lately."

James
glanced at her confused as they walked together, "doing what?"

Jessie
sighed impatiently at herself. "He... I thought it'd be easier
if I didn't see you as much after..." she fidgeted
uncomfortably, unable to look him in the eye, "the turbolift.
The love spell. Everything."

"I
see," James said, also uncomfortable. He did though manage to
look at her quizzically. "He thought?"

Jessie
winced. "Counselling. Said it'd help."

"Ah,"
James sighed. He stopped and turned, "did it?"

"No,"
Jessie slowed to a stop, turning around to face him. "I felt
like I was sneaking around all the time, like I was doing something
wrong. And you know what? I kinda was."

James
frowned, "Jess, it's okay, you didn't. I get it."

Jessie
smiled at him bitterly. "No you don't. You're my best friend, I
don't want to lose you. I'd do anything to avoid that."

"I'm
not going anywhere," James said, smiling weakly back.

"That's
the thing," Jessie said, her voice sounded strained. His face
meanwhile fell. "After the break up we drifted apart, it was
horrible. It helped though. We got passed it, and then we were like
it was before."

"And
that's... bad?" James wondered quietly.

"No,"
Jessie replied, sounding surprised. "I just mean it got
comfortable again. Too comfortable. We could do that before because,
you know... but now."

"No,
no I don't know," James mumbled, shaking his head.

"I
didn't want to admit it either," Jessie said with a growing
lump in her throat. "The things we'd do when we were drunk, the
love spell, the turbolift. We're too used to one another, it becomes
almost habit. It's making things awkward between us, and I don't like that."

James
glanced around him looking a little lost, unsure what to say.
"So um, what are you saying?"

"I
think..." Jessie said hesitantly, "maybe I should move
out, stay somewhere else for a while. Create a little space,
so..." she trailed off when she noticed the colour leaving his face.

"What?"
James stuttered.

Jessie
was about to reply, but footsteps were approaching. She tried to
straighten up and pretend nothing was wrong.

"Indeed,"
Tuvok said neutrally. "I'd like to speak to you again about the
attack on Miss Tani."

Jessie
groaned, "I told you, she's not worth my energy."

"So
you say, however..." Tuvok said. In the meantime James turned
to continue walking down the corridor. Neither of them noticed.
"You are what she calls love rivals." Jessie groaned in
disgust. "You both have expressed an interest in the same person."

"No
I... do you mind?" Jessie hissed, eyes briefly pointing in
James' previous position. Then she noticed he was gone and looked
around, shoulders lowering. "Great," she sighed.

"I
didn't say who the person was," Tuvok said.

Jessie
stared up at him icily, "yeah, Tani? I think even he knows you
mean him there. Lucky for you..." She gestured her head in the
direction James had been. Tuvok looked, eyebrow raised. "Look,
why would I? Tani's not a threat," she started to stammer,
"not that I like him like that or anything. Shut up."

"Please
come with me," Tuvok said.

Jessie
groaned and rolled her eyes.

Chakotay's
Quarters:Morgan
rushed through the door, aiming straight for the bathroom. Before
she could even open the door she dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Ohno,
not again," Morgan groaned as she looked around her new misty
environment. A figure emerged from the clouds to approach her.

"Hello
again Morgan," Kes said softly.

"Isn't
there a different method of communication? This place freaks me
out," Morgan said.

"No,
sorry," Kes replied.

"Well,
what am I doing here this time?" Morgan asked.

"Well
I noticed that your crew is faced with a confusing murder
mystery," Kes said.

Morgan
groaned, "so? What else is new?"

"You
see the killer is not somebody you expected," Kes said.

"Really,
who is it?" Morgan asked.

"Well
when I was on Voyager, I was threatened to leave the ship by a
crewmember," Kes said.

"But
mum said that you left because you wanted to explore your new
powers," Morgan said.

"That's
what I told her, the person who threatened me told me that if I told
anyone about the threat she would kill me," Kes said.

"I
was threatened before they even developed. She was still capable of
hurting me when I decided to leave," Kes said.

"Who
was it, and is it the same person who attacked Tani?" Morgan asked.

"I'm
afraid so, she must be stopped," Kes said.

"Well,
who is it?" Morgan asked.

Jessie
stomped through her quarters door, heading straight for her room and
muttering to herself. Inside her bedroom a few bags were on the bed
and on the floor, wardrobe left half open. She looked around at them
all with a growing sense of dread.

"No,
forget it," she snapped, brushing one of the partly empty bags
onto the floor, depositing the few tops everywhere. With a heavy sigh
she walked over to collect them again, trying her best not to cry
with a lump in her throat. "God, stop it. It's your own
fault." She picked a few of them up.

The
last one had landed by the wardrobe. Jessie had to shuffle forward
to reach it. While she was doing that the lights went out.
"What?" A ruffling sound in front of her put her on edge,
so she backed away while tapping her badge. "Rex to
Security." The only response she got was static noise.

Next
thing she knew she was lying on the ground, cheek to carpet, her
head pounding so much she felt sick. The last thing she remembered
was a couple of hands grabbing her.

Morgan
stared blankly at the ethereal Ocampa, expecting her to continue. A
few minutes of her not doing so riled her up. "Well, who?"

Kes
frowned, "that's odd. You should've seen the flashback."

"Why
can't you just tell me?" Morgan asked while starting to dance
on the spot.

"Perhaps
the link is weakening a little," Kes mused aloud. Her gaze
drifted off to one side, mouth open slightly.

Morgan
growled in frustration, "well can you hang up and call back in
five minutes? Or just leave a message saying the murderer's name,
that'd be swell."

Kes
shook her head, Morgan took that as a no until she stared at the
girl in a blind panic. "Jessie's, she's the next victim."

"What,
when...?" Morgan stuttered.

The
strange mist faded away, leaving behind her quarters. She tapped her
commbadge while getting up. "Janeway to Security. You need to
get to Jessie Rex urgently, she's in trouble."

Morgan
reached Jessie's quarters and promptly began to try pry them open.
Inside the living area seemed normal, undisturbed. She rushed for one
of the bedrooms. The door opened but she could see nothing.

"Jessie?"
she called while rooting around her pocket for a PADD. Once she got
it she used it as a light source, pointing it around the room. She
noticed the bag on the floor first, then headed towards the bed.

There
she saw her, lying slumped face down. Morgan hurried to check on
her. "Sickbay, we have another victim. Can you get a lock on Jessie?"

She
got no answer. Meanwhile she checked to see if she still had a
pulse. Her fingers barely touched her throat when what looked like a
Borg nanoprobe burst out of Jessie's cheek.

"What
the hell..." Morgan stammered over the top of a small shuffling
sound. She looked, it came from the wardrobe. "All right, come
out. I know you're still here." The cupboard doors that were
behind her suddenly opened and she was forcefully pushed into the dresser.

Someone
approached, almost gliding to her side, the face hidden in the dark
until the light from the other room shone on the side of her face.

"You!"
Morgan snarled.

"I'm
so glad you stopped by, it saved me the trip to your quarters,"
Annika sneered.

"Why
don't you give up while you're ahead, it'll save me the energy I
need to kick your ass," Morgan said. Annika quickly pulled a
knife out of her pocket and she slashed Morgan's arm with it. "Is
that the best you can do?" Morgan asked as she held her left
arm. Annika pulled out a hypospray.

"Since
I've always been the one to explain, I'll tell you what this is.
It's a secret formula I've been working on. It re activates drones
nanoprobes, but they end up going out of control in the end. There's
no telling where they would erupt. Of course there is a high chance
that the nanoprobes will attach onto vital organs. That could prove
fatal. I doubt Jessie would last long if that were to happen,"
Annika said.

"You
bitch!" Morgan yelled and she punched Annika in the face. She
stumbled backwards, slamming into the wardrobe.

Like
it was nothing, the ex-drone got her bearings back. "Nice
try, Morgan," Annika sneered. She hit Morgan in the face hard
enough to make her stumble backwards into the bed. Annika put the
knife on a dresser on her way over to her. She sat in between Morgan
and Jessie, leaning over the teen to hold her by the throat.
"There's no need to resist Morgan. Don't you know resistance is futill,"
Annika said as she brought the hypospray down.

Morgan
shuddered in disgust and anger. It gave her the boost she needed to
push the woman off her towards the door as it was opening. A couple
of unfortunate security guys were bowled over on their way in. The
only one left stepped over them casually to get into the room
quicker. He took one glance at Morgan and Jessie, he lunged forward
to get to them. Annika's painful grumbles delayed him, bringing his
attention back down to the ground.

"I'll
get her to Sickbay," Morgan said while scooping up Jessie in
her arms. "You get that cow locked up, she's finally flipped."

James
didn't need to be told even once, he had already nonchalantly
pointed a phaser at Annika as she hurriedly got back to her feet. One
shot and she was down again.

Thompson
chose that moment to leap onto his feet. "Ah, good job team,
another one well done because of me." James and then Foster
stared at him blankly. Morgan shook her head on her way through the
doors. "I totally got in her way, stopped her from escaping.
Who's the man?" James rolled his eyes and followed Morgan,
leaving Thompson looking even more smug than before. "See, he
can't deny it."

"One
of these days, I'm going to get that transfer to another
department," Foster moaned.

Sickbay:Kathryn
made a b-line straight for her daughter, and Tom who was treating
her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah
I suppose so," Morgan answered.

"What
did that little Neelix's snot coffee in my vicinity do this time? I
have half a mind to eject her into space," Kathryn said.

Morgan's
lip curled. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"Ah
you're right. I need something different," Kathryn said.

Tom
looked at the both of them, both amused and a little worried.
"Little what in your what?"

Kathryn
brushed him off with a hand wave near his face. He groaned and
wandered off.

"Apparently
she's the one who attacked Lilneli and Tani as well. Jessie was next
on her list," Morgan said.

"Yes,
Lilneli. She will be missed," Kathryn said, eyes darting from
side to side. "Unfortunately I will be busy during her funeral,
so your father will have to make the speech."

"Mum,"
Morgan warned her with a little chuckle. "She's the one you
said cuts your hair, remember?"

Kathryn's
eyes bulged almost out. "Ohno! I've been calling her Lilly all
this time. Who the hell is Lilly?"

The
Doctor wandered over, albeit reluctantly. "If I can
interrupt..." Kathryn's stare said no but she said nothing.
"I seriously doubt the attacks during the last two weeks are
related. What happened to Jessie is not the same."

"Why
do you think Annika attacked those other two, it doesn't make
sense," Kathryn asked.

"I
don't, Kes told me," Morgan replied.

Kathryn
smiled, "well that's me convinced."

The
Doctor cleared his throat, then scowled at the teen. "Not this
again. Morgan, you do not have telepathic abilities. Nor can you
communicate with Kes."

"Well
if I don't, how the hell do I know about her? It's not like anyone's
ever mentioned her, ever," Morgan grumbled.

"Why
would Annika attempt to murder Lilneli, Tani or Jessie? What do any
of them have in common?" Tom asked on approach. "All I got
are Tani and Jessie have been Borg before."

Morgan
nodded, "yeah she was a bit sour about other Borgs..."

"Like
I already said; Annika likely has nothing to do with the previous
two attacks. Tani claims she was attacked in the dark by somebody
humming some annoying little ditty, her words," the Doctor said.
"That doesn't sound like something she'd do."

"It's
not like this ship has that many suspects to pick from,"
Kathryn said. Tom was about to say something while turning his
attention towards James. "Yes, that's it. James tried to kill
Jessie. You solved the case, you utter plonker."

Morgan
shrugged, "I dunno, it wasn't the part I was bothered about
anyway." She wandered off towards the biobed, her mother
followed. "Hey Doc, you didn't say if Jessie was fine."

"No,
because that remains to be seen," the Doctor said.

James
glumly turned his head toward Morgan, only lightly. "The Doc's
put her in an induced coma to slow the nanoprobes."

Morgan
gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be okay."

Kathryn's
eyebrow twitched, however only the ever observant Tom noticed it so
he struggled to keep a smirk from forming.

"I
hope you're right. If she dies, so does Annika," James said.

"Murder
again?" Kathryn snapped louder than she meant to. "Why
don't we drop a chainsaw on her too, for old times sake."

Morgan
laughed nervously, "I wouldn't call it dropped." Her
mother's pointed scowl in their direction had her lower her hand back
to her side.

"Too
quick," James commented. He noticed Kathryn staring at him, so
he turned to face her. "What, since when do you care about Seven dying?"

"I
watched that bimbo get blown to bits in an explosion, yet she
wandered back onto the ship without as much of a change of
clothes," Kathryn said.

Morgan
looked confused, "she does that?"

Kathryn
continued as if she never spoke, "whoever came up with this so
called joke, it's not funny. Killing her isn't going to solve anything."

"Finally,
some sanity for once," the Doctor sighed in relief.
"Clearly Annika is not well. Perhaps some understanding would
make all the difference."

James
tried to catch his laughter in his throat, of course everyone heard
him. "Right. What did you say to me when I started my probation
in Sickbay?"

"Try
not to kill anyone, is what I say to everyone who works for me,"
the Doctor said. Tom shook his head. "Clearly yours was a
different situation."

"Clearly,
but I don't mind, I've had enough unwanted advances the last
year," James said.

Kathryn
bit her lip firmly. Tom didn't try, he laughed. The Doctor looked
confused until he got it, then he stomped off in a huff.

"Yes
well, putting the Doc's gross crush aside for the moment, if Annika
really attacked those other two as well as Jessie, we need to know
why, just in case," Kathryn said.

"Eeew,
the Doc likes Annika?" Morgan groaned.

Tom
tried to bring back a straight face. "Well she's getting better."

Morgan's
face paled, everyone assumed it was because of her Doctor
realisation. "Wait, an annoying ditty. What does ditty mean? I
thought that Annika humming about herself was a bit strange, even for her."

"It
probably means a song, why?" James answered.

"It
probably means she was humming Barbie Girl," Tom added. James
and Kathryn stared at him as if he admitted to being a Justin
Timberlake fanboy. "What, it's annoying."

Morgan
didn't look amused either. Tom slinked away a few steps. "I'm
sure when I was approaching Jessie's quarters I heard something like
that. So it must've been her who attacked Tani at least."

The
Doctor marched back to them, brandishing a PADD. "Here, I'll
prove why she didn't attack Tani and Lilneli. I videoed my interview
with her while I was treating her in the brig." It was then
shoved in the middle of them while he smiled proudly.

"You
are my sunshine, my only sunshine," it instead sang to
them. The Doctor's face turned bright red in an impressive half a
second. He went to turn it off, but Morgan grabbed it off him.

"Eeew
again," Morgan complained, tossing it to James. She then wiped
her hands on Tom and turned her back on them all.

"You
make me happy when skies are grey. You never know dear..."

Kathryn
groaned, she reached over to turn it off. Then she got a good look
at who the singers were. James already had and was staring in disgust
towards the Doctor. "No wonder she's flipping insane,"
Kathryn spat at the hologram.

The
Doctor tried to snatch the PADD back. James groaned and let go so he
could. "I played the wrong one. Here," he said while
tapping on it. This time the inside of the brig was shown with Annika
standing behind a forcefield.

"Have
you seen how many there are? It's clear what's going on here. Not
one of these imbeciles are good enough to replace me, so you bring
more and more in," Annika's voice complained. "I
mean, I was doing the ship a favour. How many times has that Jessie
been a hindrance, causing all the trouble for the ship? I count three
episodes out of seven. Disgusting."

"Annika,
that's not even close to being right," the Doctor said.

"What,
you want me to count Season One as well?" Annika snarled. "Very
well." She stared into space for a second. "Twenty
three. That's not including the things she's done before I joined. I
can count those too if you wish."

"What
the hell is she blabbering about?" Morgan asked.

The
Doctor shushed her.

"What?
You're on their side aren't you?" Annika snapped.

"Of
course not. But whatever Jessie's done, doesn't justify what you did
to her. You understand?" the Doctor said. "Tell me, why..."

"Don't
get me started on that little Janeway terror. She thinks that
because she's related to the Captain, she is better than me. No one
will remember her, and no one can fantasize
about her without it being incredibly skivvy."

"Yes
now. Before this, I don't think she even knew her name,"
Kathryn said. "You know her, she has to be perfect all the time.
She wouldn't admit to a mistake."

Morgan
scrunched up her face, "so what, are we assuming someone else
did Tani and Lilneli in? What now?"

"If
I'm correct, the answer to this problem is clear. I have the perfect
treatment regime," the Doctor said.

"Euthanasia,"
James said.

The
Doctor gasped in horror, "no! I couldn't do that."

"That's
okay. I volunteer," James said.

"You...
no, no," the Doctor stammered angrily. "Annika clearly has
some issues she needs to work out. My suggestion is far more humane."

James
shrugged without a care in the world, "you and I clearly have
different definitions of the term."

The
Doctor grunted, turning away to ignore him. "I agree that
Annika should be confined as punishment. I suggest..."

"Ooh
a nut house!" Morgan blurted out.

"I've
got an old program in the archives. It's a mental health
hospital," the Doctor said through gritted teeth. "Nut
house is very offensive, by the way." Morgan rolled her eyes.
"Since Annika would be the only patient, treatment would be quicker."

"Yes,
this'll cure her of trying to kill people syndrome," James
said, smiling bitterly at the hologram. He didn't see it, but the
Doctor flinched at the words.

Kathryn
hinted at him to be quiet with a finger to her own lips. "You're
assuming her only problem is her jealousy of Morgan, James and/or
Jessie. That's not being ill, that's just her. As is her decision to
kill. And you call us offensive."

"I
have diagnosed her with an actual disorder," the Doctor said in offense.

"Since
when?" Morgan asked.

The
Doctor visibly twitched in anger, "since the interview. Excuse
me, I've got to focus on treating Jessie for the moment. I'd much
prefer it without all the riff raff."

"That's
too bad," James said, taking a seat on the nearest empty biobed.

"Morgan?"
the Doctor said, almost pleadingly in the teen's direction.

She
glanced between him and James. "Oh dear, that's a tough...
nah." She turned to walk out.

"I
don't suppose your refusal has anything to do with, what did you
call it Captain, your gross crush on a certain someone," the
Doctor said.

"Mmm
coffee marshmallows and beans," Kathryn drooled, rolling over
with her arms firmly grasping a cup against her chest.

Annika
approached smiling her toothy grin, humming the same tune all the
while. She reached down towards Kathryn's throat, still humming.

Kathryn
moaned, smiling contently and very unaware of this. "Oh Tom,
you shouldn't have." That put Annika off, she looked confused.
Kathryn's smile turned into a disgusted grimace as her fingers shot
out, poking Annika directly in both eyes. As if nothing happened, she
rolled onto her other side and started snoring.

Annika
couldn't help but cry on the ground for a few minutes. Once she was
done, but still with blurry vision, she looked around even more
confused than before. "Where am I? How peculiar." She got
up and headed for the door.

Kathryn's
snoring turned into humming the same tune she was earlier. Annika
froze at the door for a while before wandering off outside.

"Kathryn?"
Chakotay said in concern.

"Wh..."
Kathryn shook her head, then looked at him. "Morgan was right.
Annika did attack more than Jessie."

Chakotay
didn't seem surprised in the slightest. "Was there really
anyone other than the Doctor who doubted?"

Tuvok
approached. "Captain, I believe I have found evidence linking
the first incident with the second."

"Oh
really?" Kathryn said while caressing her sore head.

"Indeed.
Not only did the suspect have many awkward encounters with the
second victim, he also allegedly broke into Lilneli's quarters to
arrest her mate, rather violently I may add. Perhaps..." Tuvok explained.

"And
Tuvok," Chakotay mumbled, confusing the Vulcan.

Kathryn
squeezed the bridge of her nose before looking up at him. "Are
you serious? Lilneli's ex boyfriend was a serial groper. So James was
a little rough on him when he arrested the perv, he deserved it, even
Lilneli thought so."

"But
Captain," Tuvok protested.

"No
buts, I know who did it," Kathryn said while standing up,
"because I was going to be her first victim." Anyone who
heard her stared with a mix of confusion and surprise. "I
remember now, thanks to the Doctor's stupid little evidence."

Chakotay
jumped up to his feet as well, concern all over his face. "What
do you mean? When?"

"That's..."
Chakotay said while he thought about it, he trailed off. "Oh. A
trigger implies someone did this to her."

"Not
necessarily. The way she's been behaving lately, or even years ago
for that matter. Remember the stupid squeaky alien she had a fling
with, who then tried to attack Morgan?" Kathryn said. Chakotay
winced and looked toward Tuvok. "I knew we were too lenient on
her. She wouldn't need much convincing to attack the people she
doesn't like. The problem is, why now and why the song?"

The
Holodeck:Annika
sat in a sterile little bedroom with her back straight, staring
blankly in the direction of the Doctor standing by the door.

"I
realise this is a little confusing for you, unsettling even. So I
thought we could continue our social lessons. It might help you
relax," the Doctor said.

"I
see no reason for this confinement, Doctor. Release me," Annika
said, her eyes widening and fluttering robotically.

The
Doctor sighed sympathetically. "We'll get to the bottom of
this, together. I promise. I know you wouldn't kill anyone. Now..."

Annika's
eyes drifted to one side. "Kill? Who have I killed?"

"Clear
that from your mind for now. Do you recall our last few
lessons?" the Doctor smiled.

"Yes,"
Annika replied, her gaze clicking back to match his. "You
taught me to sing. You said I had a natural talent. That I'd be
better than Morgan, and..."

"Hold
on," the Doctor said, "I never said you were better than
anyone, nor worse. Lets start from the top shall we?"

Sickbay:The
lights dropped out one by one, leaving only the occupied biobed's
panels as the only source of light.

As
the doors opened, a soft humming echoed into the room. Annika
stepped inside, smiling as she looked around. Her eyes lay on the
occupied bed, her humming turned into singing, "but if you leave
me to love another, you'll regret it all someday. You are my..."

Something
collided into her from the left, pushing her into the wall. She
found herself on the ground on her knees. Shakily, painfully she
stood to look her attacker in the eye.

"I
should have known," she said.

"You're
not going to touch her while I'm here," James said.

"Ooh,
I'm shaking," Annika said sarcastically, she grabbed a hold of
his arm to pull him towards her. "Sorry chump, but you're no
match for me. Besides, you're not the kind of guy who'd hurt a woman."

"Guess
again," James said and he hit her in the face. It made her
stumble backwards and crash into the console behind her. She looked
shocked as she felt where she'd been hit. A bit of her hair had
fallen out of place too.

"That's
it, I wasn't going to kill you but I have no choice now,"
Annika said angrily. She approached him again but he just threw
another punch her way, flooring her once more. "You," she spat.

James
walked over to her so casually and with a blank face, she didn't
expect the couple of brutal kicks to the ribs. The pain made her
double over into a fetal position on the floor.

"Listen
Barbie, if you mess with Jessie, you mess with me," James said.

"Ooh,
do you see me trembling," Annika said. She used her right leg
to kick him back, giving her the time to pull herself back on to her
feet. She brought out her knife and she paced in front of him.
"Don't mess with me, you're out of your league."

"Really?
I guess you're..." James said. He hit Annika more forcefully
and she fell back onto the floor, her knife slipped out of her hand. "Wrong."

Annika
brought her left hand to her face. She felt dampness under her nose.
It was bleeding heavily. Her right hand reached the knife but James
stood on her hand. "I wouldn't try that, if I were you," he warned.

"Fine,
what about this?" Annika said as she pressed the hypospray into
his ankle.

He
stumbled backwards and a few seconds later he collapsed. Annika
pulled herself back onto her feet after picking up the knife. She
walked over to Jessie's biobed. She looked back over at James.
"Want to watch?" she asked. She raised the knife into the
air and brought it back down into Jessie's stomach.

"That
was fun," Annika said a few seconds later. She walked out the door.

Tom,
Tuvok and his security team arrived in Sickbay. Tom rushed over to
Jessie as Tuvok and the security team looked around the room.

"Commander,
she was stabbed a few minutes ago. If I don't put her into stasis I
won't be able to revive her at all," Tom said. A forcefield
appeared around Jessie's biobed after he stepped away. He then rushed
over to James who was unconscious. Tom scanned him with the
tricorder. Tuvok walked over too.

"He
has the virus that Jessie has," Tom said. His tricorder started
screeching. "Ohno, we need to get the Doctor back! One nanoprobe
has attached onto a major artery, he's bleeding internally," Tom said.

Tuvok
rushed over to the nearest console and he started working at it.

Kathryn
entered as well, her cheeks flexed as she looked around. Then she
spotted something on the floor near to where James was lying.

"You
will never beat me!" Annika barked at the same time she swung
her fist.

Morgan
grabbed that wrist, then delivered one of her own. Annika slamming
into the wall, denting it, it did nothing to calm the younger girl
down. She charged forward to continue the blows.

"Futile,"
Annika hissed whilst dodging down, tucking under the girl's arm to
get out of her way. Then she threw herself at her from the side,
pushing them both to the ground. The dagger was brandished, ready to
impale her in the torso.

Morgan
scrambled backwards to get away, only for the knife to plunge into
her thigh. Her screams drowned out Annika's giggling. She pulled it
out to attack again, Morgan swung her uninjured leg into her
attacker's face. For a second Annika looked dazed, but she laughed it
off and grinned.

An
excruciating noise approached. Annika froze with a stunned look on
her face.

"Hama
da da do da da, hama da da do dada."

Morgan
frowned, it was coming from behind her but there was no way she was
going to turn around and look.

"Wo
bamma ba ba," the noise which barely sounded like a voice was
getting louder. "Mama ma heeeeeeeeeeee!" All of the glass
panels in the corridor cracked from the pressure.

Neelix
wandered down the corridor towards her in a world of his own,
dancing, if you could call it that. He started to shake his butt on
the spot, completely oblivious. "Mama do the hump hump, won't
you pleeeeeeeeeeeease..." he screeched the last word, the panels
couldn't take anymore, shattering glass everywhere. "Na na nah,
har har haaaar!"

"Okay,
now I'm torn between who to use this on," a voice behind Annika grumbled.

Morgan's
attention darted up while Annika swung around. A hypospray pressed
into Annika's neck, making her scream in agony. She dropped to the
ground next to Morgan, almost landing on her bad leg.

"What..."
Morgan stammered, shuffling backwards. "Mum?"

Kathryn
glared in Neelix's direction. "I've saved a milligram of this
crap for him. He doesn't have nanoprobes, what will it do to him?"

"Nothing,"
Morgan said, not sounding sure.

Annika
lifted her head up just as a couple of nanoprobes pierced her face,
"actually he doe..." Kathryn finished off the hypospray on
her, causing her to pass out again.

Captain's
Log Supplemental;
I'd love to say that everything is back to normal, but Neelix's
stupid torture song is stuck in my head. Annika of Nine has been
confined in the Holodeck hospital until further notice. All of her
surviving victims have now been released from Sickbay.

Now
if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue headbutting the wall.

"Do
you really need this many shoes?"

James
stepped into his quarters at the same time, freezing him on the
spot. He wasn't sure whether to go further in.

Jessie
stepped out of her room grumbling to herself while repeatedly
balling her fists. When she noticed James her hands dropped to her
side and her face softened. "Oh good, you're back."

"Who?"
Andrew's voice stammered. He made his appearance at the door. His
reaction to seeing the new arrival was pretty much opposite.

"Do
you need any help?" James asked only in Jessie's direction.

Jessie
considered it but that immediately left her feeling guilty again.
Andrew though scoffed at the thought. "No way, you're going to
need a second, maybe third bag for those shoes. Why don't you leave
some behind?"

"I'll
get it," James said while shaking his head. He went into
Jessie's room to Andrew's dismay.

"Yeah
right," Andrew chuckled, still he followed him. His jaw almost
fell out when James picked up a massive bag on the floor and flung it
over his shoulder.

"No,
no... He can't take it, he'll know where you're staying."
Andrew hinted for him to pass the bag over.

Both
James and Jessie gave him the same judgmental stares. James shrugged
and put the bag down while keeping a hold of the strap, handing that
over. Andrew smugly took it off from him.

Jessie
walked back inside still armed with the same expression as before.
That didn't change when Andrew strained to lift the bag. It didn't
even lift a millimetre off the floor. His face was red, not just from
the effort he was making. The pair watched him instead try to drag it
out, very slowly.

When
he was gone five minutes later, James allowed himself to smirk.
"So, I didn't get the restraining order."

James
sighed, staring down at the floor. "Are you sure about... do
you really have to do this? I can, I will do whatever."

"I
know you would," Jessie said as her face fell. "But you
shouldn't have to. This is my fault, my issue. I'll still see you,
just not every morning or night. A few months or so we'll be back to
norm..." She was interrupted by rapidly approaching screams, her
eyes widened. "What the hell?"

The
door chimed, the noise still continued. James warily approached the
door to open it. It was no surprise to him but it was to Jessie that
Tom and B'Elanna were on the other side, her with the baby in her arms.

"Morgan
said he didn't cry here," Tom stuttered in panic. He flailed
about wildly in James' direction as Jessie walked over as well.
"Hand him over, quick, before my eardrums bleed."

B'Elanna
frowned at him briefly, she still walked over to Jessie, offering
her the baby.

"No,
no, I dunno if he'll like her yet," Tom really panicked.

Jessie
tensed and started to shake. The screaming and the panicked
expression on Tom's face pushed her forward to take him anyway. Cries
turned into whimpers, in seconds Duncan dozed off contently.

B'Elanna
smiled and took off what looked like ear muffs hidden under her
hair. She looked at Tom as he stared gormlessly in shock. "What
did you say?"

"How...
how do you do that?" Tom stammered.

"I
dunno," Jessie mumbled while staring down at the little face.

Tom
rapidly shook his head, "this is unbelievable. Even though
Morgan said, thought it was a long shot."

B'Elanna
pointed her smile towards Jessie. "Can you take care of him
tonight? Bryan and us didn't get a wink last night."

"Um
I..." Jessie stammered.

"No,
the corner!" Andrew's voice cried out outside.

Tom
took a peek and snickered. "He's still there?" He turned
back towards the quarters, "maybe you should check that out,
could be a dead body or two in that bag."

Jessie
gave him a discreet elbow to the arm. "After that?" she
said knowingly towards him.

"Yeah
no problem," James replied.

"Seriously,
whatever's in there's pretty lumpy," Tom said, gesturing to
outside. He left to go the way he came. B'Elanna followed with a
growing smile. It took only a few steps to pass Andrew trying to drag
the bag which had caught the corner. "Need any help?" Tom asked.

Andrew
pretended he was merely holding the handle and put on a friendly
smile. "No, I got it."

"Suit
yourself bud," Tom chuckled.

Andrew
waited for them to go before he tried again. Unknown to him Tom and
even B'Elanna were watching from a nearby junction.

A
few more desperate tugs and the handle snapped, sending Andrew
hurtling backwards onto the floor. After he recovered he once again
checked the coast was clear before he called the transporter room.